A Louisiana Girl's Iowa Observations

First of all, everyone here is blonde.  Everyone.  It is uncanny how many blonde haired, blue eyed adults and children live here.  Someone said they are of scandinavian descent, but I'm not sure.

Snow does not kill weeds.  I thought for sure it would.  It does not kill grass, either.  It melts and the grass is just as green as it was in Autumn, and the weeds you left in the Fall are still there.

Snow also doesn't melt like I thought it would, into rivers of water.  It melts slowly, from the top of the pile, like your snowball does.  It also retreats from the edge of the curb like the waves at the beach.  Curb to sidewalk.  For some reason I didn't think it would go that way.

Snow is beautiful, glittery when there is ice in it, like diamonds.  It blankets everything and makes it all look clean.  Snow's a complete sensory experience, the ground gets covered with it, the snow in the road turns to brown slush that your car slips and slides on, and it stays there, piled up on the side of your driveway, in your yard for months.  After so many years of seeing grass year-round, seeing snow sit there for so long is different.

Freshly fallen snow makes everything quiet.  No birds, wildlife, nothing when it's really cold (zero degrees).  The sound of a car driving on fresh snow is one of the most beautiful I've ever heard, if you can believe that, a soft crunching that sounds like nothing else.

Ice can be a pain, it is slippery and dangerous if you don't know it's there.  That's what happens when you don't shovel your sidewalk.  I found that out the hard way.  But ice is nice when it forms on top of the snow, because you can actually walk on top of a three foot pile of snow without falling in!  And the way to move on ice is to glide or walk like a penguin, which Miles has mastered already, and I can't quite get the hang of.

Winter is a nice break from the constant stifling heat of the South.  It is cold, yes, but it is nice to have the opposite problem- being too cold you can always add layers, but when you are too hot, there is no taking your clothes off (well, maybe for some!).  

People in Iowa love their children to a fault.  There are indoor playlands at every mall that put McDonald's to shame.  There are playgrounds in every neighborhood.  They renovate their schools every five years.  We walk to school, it is in the middle of our neighborhood.  

The schools start guidance counseling in Kindergarten.  I have been very happy with the programs they teach, including the "confusing touches" module.  It was presented in a very matter-of-fact way which I think has come a long way from the "stranger danger" we grew up with.

There is music, art, and P.E., still in the schools, and library time.  Nothing cut out here.  The kids go outside for recess three times a day.  I think that is the best part of the whole system- recognition that little kids need to be outside often to do well in school.

People love to work out here.  They run, bike, and walk as much as they can when it's not winter time.  It is easier to appreciate the time you spend outside when you are stuck inside for a few months out of the year.  The bike trails are amazing, you can ride from one end of the city to the other.

People are warm, once you get to know them.  That is the thing that confuses a lot of people that move to the Midwest, I think.  Neighbors are very friendly at first, bringing over goodies and introducing themselves.  But then they kind of let you do your own thing for a while, I think to make sure you'll last through the winter.  And once you do, they are glad you are still here!

Iowans celebrate May Day.  I had never heard of this before, and when little cups of popcorn and goodies showed up at our doorstep the first year we were here I was a little weirded out.  Apparently the tradition is to drop off your goodies, ring the doorbell, and run.  If the person living there catches you, they get to give you a kiss.  Very cute.

Halloween is cold, a lot colder than I am used to, but they still sell the flimsy costumes here, not sure why.  You have to wear layers under costumes and a jacket over them!  They trick-or-treat the night before Halloween, call it Beggar's Night, supposedly to cut down on crime (yes, I know, what crime?).

Everyone here hates February, which has always been my favorite month, because of my birthday and Mardi Gras.  However February here is the tail end of winter, when people are getting sick of snow, and cold, and are ready for Spring to come.  When I told my friend I got married in February she laughed, that it was 60 that day, and here it is usually in the 20s and 30s.

The girls here wear a lot of pigtails, along with the moms I am friends with.  It is cute, and I haven't seen it elsewhere.  They also have the advantage of wearing really thick knee and thigh high socks and thick tights, so they don't have to shave in the winter.  I so wish we'd had those in the South when I was freezing my legs off every winter under that damn uniform skirt.

People here love to plant in the Spring.  It's something about being surrounded by farms, or maybe it's just Spring.  I didn't understand it the first year, because a lot of the plants that people put in die in the winter, but I get it now- it is so nice to see new sprouts grow and flower after a long, hard winter.

Hostas, daffodils, and tulips are pretty much nonexistent in the South.  They are so pretty here, how they come up out of the ground after the snow has melted.  Tulips have to be the prettiest, they are yellow, pink, orange, white, deep purple, and almost black purple, and some are hybrids that are white and hot pink.  So pretty.

People know how to prepare for winter here.  A lot of folks grow their own vegetables in the summer and can them in the Fall.  Or make preserves or jelly from fruit.  Spring is also the time for babies, calves and baby pigs, and baby ducks.  Many people buy a share of the animal and have the meat by winter.

Spring is also a time for pregnant mommies!  Being stuck inside I think gets to people here, in a good way I guess.  A lot of mothers start their families at 24 or 25, which seems really young to me, but when you are stuck inside all winter... well, I digress.

Spring, Summer, and Fall are all pleasant, or at least April through October are.  Sometimes it snows in April or October, but it doesn't stick.  It's California weather, so nice to be outside all day in.  And you don't have to drink a six pack or jump in the pool to make it bearable.

There is a higher consciousness here that I am having trouble explaining.  Perhaps it is because people spend winter inside, thinking and reflecting about their lives, and what they will do when the Spring comes.  Maybe it is because people just want to make the best of the "good months", so they do everything they can to make what is outside nice.  I still can't put my finger on it...

People stop to help.  If you run your car into the median after hitting black ice on the highway, you can bet at least three people will stop their cars and get out to help you.  No one wants to be stuck in a disabled car in the middle of winter.  They'll also dig you out if you get stuck.

They're clean.  They compost all of their yard waste.  Our recycling bin is just as big as our garbage bin. They have spring and fall cleanup where they pick up your old junk and appliances, and most of it is usually gone, because many people scour the neighborhood for things they can reuse.  

A lot of people share kids' clothes willingly, trade, and give away coats, mittens, hats, gloves, and boots, because every kid should have them in the winter.  I haven't bought anything for Miles or Elle for the summer.  It was all given to me, or swapped for my stuff.  I don't remember that kind of generosity in New Orleans!

I guess you can say Iowans have a lot of pride, and it shows.  They get really offended if you say you don't like living here, because there are so many good things about Iowa.  I have told several people, I have nothing against them, it's just their winter that is hard to deal with!!

What more could you expect from a state the Native Americans called "the Beautiful Land"?!